Stephen Colbert takes dig at Paramount for silencing 'revolution' in Writers Guild Awards speech
Stephen Colbert was presented with the Walter Bernstein Award at the Writers Guild Awards over the weekend.
Stephen Colbert has joked the revolution "was going to be televised, and then Paramount bought it".
The 61-year-old Late Show host - whose iconic CBS show will come to an end in May - couldn't resist a dig at his soon-to-be former employers, who gained government approval for its Skydance merger shortly after the network announced the cancellation.
Colbert was presented with this year's Walter Bernstein Award at the Writers Guild Awards, and he played down comparisons to the namesake screenwriter who was blacklisted during the Red Scare in the 1950s.
He joked: “This is not the 1950s. This is not the Red Scare. And, as far as I can tell, no one in late-night is fomenting a revolution. "As we know, the revolution will not be televised. It was going to be televised, and then Paramount bought it.”
Referencing the network's apparent reason for axing the show, he quipped: "Evidently, the revolution was losing, like, $40 million a year — it had to go.
"I hear the revolution is thinking of starting a Substack.”
Elsewhere in his speech, Colbert revealed some jokes apparently cut by Paramount during his time on the show, including digs at Donald Trump's comments towards his daughter Ivanka, one reference by female writers about Louis C.K. during the #MeToo era, and more unheard material.
He said: "If you liked any of these ideas, please employ these lovely folks. They are the best writing staff I have ever known at any show, and I have loved our time together, which wasn’t as much time as I would like."
He insisted while "hosting may seem like a hard job" and sometimes can be, not being able to bask in the reactions to your own jokes is much more difficult.
He added: "If you’ve ever been lucky enough to be in that room, you will always want to be in that sound.
"And what is really gonna be hard is missing these people, who despite the fresh hell — whatever it is — that the news washes in, make that beautiful sound happen every day.
"So to them, and all of you, and Walter Bernstein, and to our guild, thank you so much.”
The Bernstein Award, which was set up in 2017 and has only been presented to Jelani Cobb and Ron Nsywaner over the past nine years, is presented to a Writers Guild of America East member "who has demonstrated with creativity, grace and bravery a willingness to confront social injustice in the face of adversity".
Elsewhere at the ceremony, The Pitt won two awards, while Sinners and One Battle After Another were both recognised.
Writers Guild Awards 2026 winners list
SCREENPLAY
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Sinners, Written by Ryan Coogler; Warner Bros. Pictures
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
One Battle After Another, Screenplay by Paul Thomas Anderson, Screen Story by Paul Thomas Anderson, Inspired by the novel Vineland by Thomas Pynchon; Warner Bros. Pictures
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
2,000 Meters to Andriivka, Written by Mstyslav Chernov; Frontline Features
TELEVISION, STREAMING, AND NEWS
DRAMA SERIES
The Pitt, Written by Cynthia Adarkwa, Simran Baidwan, Valerie Chu, R. Scott Gemmill, Elyssa Gershman, Joe Sachs, Noah Wyle; HBO Max
COMEDY SERIES
The Studio, Written by Evan Goldberg, Alex Gregory, Peter Huyck, Frida Perez, Seth Rogen; Apple TV
NEW SERIES
The Pitt, Written by Cynthia Adarkwa, Simran Baidwan, Valerie Chu, R. Scott Gemmill, Elyssa Gershman, Joe Sachs, Noah Wyle; HBO Max
LIMITED SERIES
Dying for Sex, Written by Sheila Callaghan, Harris Danow, Madeleine George, Elizabeth Meriwether, Kim Rosenstock, Sasha Stewart, Sabrina Wu, Keisha Zollar; FX/Hulu
TV AND STREAMING MOTION PICTURES
Deep Cover, Written by Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow; Prime Video
ANIMATION
Shira Can’t Cook (Long Story Short) Written by Mehar Sethi; Netflix
EPISODIC DRAMA
7:00 A.M. (The Pitt), Written by R. Scott Gemmill; HBO Max
EPISODIC COMEDY
Prelude (The Righteous Gemstones), Written by John Carcieri, Jeff Fradley, Danny R. McBride; HBO Max
COMEDY/VARIETY SERIES – TALK OR SKETCH
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Senior Writers: Daniel O’Brien, Owen Parsons, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf, Seena Vali; Writers: Johnathan Appel, Ali Barthwell, Tim Carvell, Liz Hynes, Ryan Ken, Sofía Manfredi, John Oliver, Taylor Kay Phillips, Chrissy Shackelford; HBO Max
COMEDY/VARIETY SPECIALS
Marc Maron: Panicked, Written by Marc Maron; HBO Max
QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
Celebrity Jeopardy!, Head Writer: Robert Patton Writers: Kyle Beakley, Michael Davies, Terence Gray, Amy Ozols, Tim Siedell, David Levinson-Wilk; ABC
DAYTIME DRAMA
The Young and the Restless, Associate Head Writers: Jeff Beldner, Marla Kanelos, Dave Ryan; Writers: Susan Banks, Amanda L. Beall, Marin Gazzaniga, Rebecca McCarty, Madeleine Phillips; CBS/Paramount+
CHILDREN’S EPISODIC, LONG FORM AND SPECIALS
When We Lose Someone (Tab Time), Written by Sean Presant; YouTube
SHORT FORM STREAMING
The Rabbit Hole with Jimmy Kimmel, Writers: Jimmy Kimmel and Jesse Joyce; YouTube
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS
Trump’s Power and the Rule of Law (Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk and Mike Wiser; PBS
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS
Forgotten Hero: Walter White and the NAACP (American Experience), Written by Rob Rapley; PBS
NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
The L.A. Wildfires (World News Tonight with David Muir), Written by David Muir, Dave Bloch, and Karen Mooney; ABC News
NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
Remembering Palestinian Journalists Killed by Israeli Forces, Written by Lisa Salinas; MSNBC
DIGITAL NEWS
An Isolated Boarding School Promised to Help Troubled Girls. Former Students Say They Were Abused., Written by Sebastian Murdock and Taiyler Mitchell; HuffPost
RADIO/AUDIO
RADIO/AUDIO DOCUMENTARY
Jerry Lewis’ Lost Holocaust Clown Movie (Decoder Ring), Written by Max Freedman; Slate
RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
ABC News Radio Top of the Hour News, Written by Robert Hawley; ABC News Radio
RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
The Life and Legacy of Jimmy Carter Written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio
PROMOTIONAL WRITING
ON-AIR PROMOTION
CBS Comedy, Written by Dan Greenberger; CBS
